The Board has remanded the claims due to insufficient medical evidence and the need for a VA medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's esophageal squamous cell cancer and lung cancer, which are presumed to be related to herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: The Board lacks sufficient medical evidence to render a decision on the claims as esophageal squamous cell cancer is not one of the presumptive diseases related to Agent Orange exposure, but service connection may still be established if it was related to his presumed herbicide agent exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- esophageal squamous cell cancer, lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19143058
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19143058.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his lung cancer was related to his service-connected melanoma.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of December 12, 2023, for a 50 percent evaluation of bipolar disorder and remanded the other issues for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an adequate medical opinion regarding the Veteran's cause of death, including lung cancer and cardio-pulmonary arrest, to address in-service toxic exposures.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the veteran's appeals for service connection for various conditions due to a lack of jurisdiction over the claims.
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